Preventing Failure After Success
Can you name one or two businesses that were once "success stories" but are out of business now? Have you heard of "great weddings" that ended up in divorce? Examples abound of successes that ended up in failure and they are not coincidences or mere unfortunate events. Most times failures are a chain of events. People don't just "fail suddenly". The same with success.
So how do we avoid being a "once successful" fellow in business, marriage etc?
1. Prepare for the consequence(s) of success
We could get so distressed about unsatisfying circumstances that all we want is escaping from them. A matured single lady just wants to be married. She is not looking at how to be a safe and prudent wife to live with. All focus and funds go to getting a man or preparing for wedding and not developing herself to be a 'marriageable' woman.The same in business: a business wanting to make more revenue by increasing inflow of clients. The company budgets so much on advertisement and is not ready for how to meet the demands of the clients when they come.
Don't fall into the trap of just preparing for success; prepare for its consequence too because success is a journey and not a destination.
2. Develop yourself for the next level
If you remain a 100 client business owner in your mindset and attitude to business and you suddenly have influx of people beyond that level, you will repel them when they come. Don't let change happen to you, you should 'happen to change'. Initiate change from within you. Learn from those who made it beyond the level you desire to reach, read more, ask questions and, after gathering information, think and change!
3. Develop others and delegate
The secret to multiplying your success is becoming a leader and not just a doer. Some businesses cannot grow, some relationships cannot develop because only one person is doing everything.
We all need to grow in our capacity to allow others to grow and do what we can do.
A business owner must be willing to train the staff. If you think this is expensive, you will soon discover that not doing so is more expensive.
"They can't do it like I do," someone protests. If your goal is to continue to succeed, you must be willing to take calculated risks. Choose the leaders to develop carefully and then train them. Allow them make their mistakes and get better (just like you did) but only under proper scheduled supervision. We are talking about training and delegation here. If you've trained like you should, you should not be afraid to give them room to practice what you taught them.
Scheduled supervision is a planned one. Agree on when and how to get reports and feedback before the task is given. And remember to empower the leader. Let his/her to-be followers know he/she is acting in your capacity.
4. Logic is not everything!
Successful people who don't want to fail must learn to follow intuition. Logic is not everything.
I was in a meeting with a company boss as they discussed opening up a new branch somewhere. It looked promising but somehow it didn't feel right with me. I tried telling the Director not to but, since I couldn't say why- I couldn't explain logically- my intuition didn't win the day. The result was that the company lost the money invested in opening the new branch and the staff that was sent to manage the place stopped communicating with the head office.
When there is a warning, that uncomfortable feeling inside you or your partner(s)- not fear but a concern- slow down, do more research and wait until that inner alarm is silent.
5. Listen, observe and listen well!
It is amazing how people think they know what others want without asking them! No matter how proactive you are, you still need the intended beneficiary of your proactive plans to be sure you are not missing it.
By all means, get other people's opinion and work with it. Listen to the complaints of your clients or you will soon lose them.
I am waiting to see a company develop an audio-based "complaint box". Why? People like to talk more than write or type. The supervisor or head of a team should have a way of getting direct feedback from clients at his/her convenient time without alteration from the subordinates and without the stress of making complaint in writing. The point is, make it easy to get feedback from clients. The same goes for every relationship.
6. Genuine Kindness
It is amazing how much some companies spend on using adverts to manipulate people. They want to use repetition and other gimmicks to influence their thinking and choices. 'Empty' content advert just made to boost the image of an advertising company is what you watch on TV. I believe in truly making lasting impact in the life of clients. If some companies cut 30% of their budgets on adverts and invest it in the lives of their intended customers, they will get better results! Touch their lives in ways that truly matters to them instead of disturbing their brains with TV commercials.
Your comments are welcome.
Thank you.
So how do we avoid being a "once successful" fellow in business, marriage etc?
1. Prepare for the consequence(s) of success
We could get so distressed about unsatisfying circumstances that all we want is escaping from them. A matured single lady just wants to be married. She is not looking at how to be a safe and prudent wife to live with. All focus and funds go to getting a man or preparing for wedding and not developing herself to be a 'marriageable' woman.The same in business: a business wanting to make more revenue by increasing inflow of clients. The company budgets so much on advertisement and is not ready for how to meet the demands of the clients when they come.
Don't fall into the trap of just preparing for success; prepare for its consequence too because success is a journey and not a destination.
2. Develop yourself for the next level
If you remain a 100 client business owner in your mindset and attitude to business and you suddenly have influx of people beyond that level, you will repel them when they come. Don't let change happen to you, you should 'happen to change'. Initiate change from within you. Learn from those who made it beyond the level you desire to reach, read more, ask questions and, after gathering information, think and change!
3. Develop others and delegate
The secret to multiplying your success is becoming a leader and not just a doer. Some businesses cannot grow, some relationships cannot develop because only one person is doing everything.
We all need to grow in our capacity to allow others to grow and do what we can do.
A business owner must be willing to train the staff. If you think this is expensive, you will soon discover that not doing so is more expensive.
"They can't do it like I do," someone protests. If your goal is to continue to succeed, you must be willing to take calculated risks. Choose the leaders to develop carefully and then train them. Allow them make their mistakes and get better (just like you did) but only under proper scheduled supervision. We are talking about training and delegation here. If you've trained like you should, you should not be afraid to give them room to practice what you taught them.
Scheduled supervision is a planned one. Agree on when and how to get reports and feedback before the task is given. And remember to empower the leader. Let his/her to-be followers know he/she is acting in your capacity.
4. Logic is not everything!
Successful people who don't want to fail must learn to follow intuition. Logic is not everything.
I was in a meeting with a company boss as they discussed opening up a new branch somewhere. It looked promising but somehow it didn't feel right with me. I tried telling the Director not to but, since I couldn't say why- I couldn't explain logically- my intuition didn't win the day. The result was that the company lost the money invested in opening the new branch and the staff that was sent to manage the place stopped communicating with the head office.
When there is a warning, that uncomfortable feeling inside you or your partner(s)- not fear but a concern- slow down, do more research and wait until that inner alarm is silent.
5. Listen, observe and listen well!
It is amazing how people think they know what others want without asking them! No matter how proactive you are, you still need the intended beneficiary of your proactive plans to be sure you are not missing it.
By all means, get other people's opinion and work with it. Listen to the complaints of your clients or you will soon lose them.
I am waiting to see a company develop an audio-based "complaint box". Why? People like to talk more than write or type. The supervisor or head of a team should have a way of getting direct feedback from clients at his/her convenient time without alteration from the subordinates and without the stress of making complaint in writing. The point is, make it easy to get feedback from clients. The same goes for every relationship.
6. Genuine Kindness
It is amazing how much some companies spend on using adverts to manipulate people. They want to use repetition and other gimmicks to influence their thinking and choices. 'Empty' content advert just made to boost the image of an advertising company is what you watch on TV. I believe in truly making lasting impact in the life of clients. If some companies cut 30% of their budgets on adverts and invest it in the lives of their intended customers, they will get better results! Touch their lives in ways that truly matters to them instead of disturbing their brains with TV commercials.
Your comments are welcome.
Thank you.
Comments
Post a Comment